With exhibitors facing a looming industry deadline of September 30, 2012 to join a Virtual Print Fee (VPF) Program, Christie® announced that it has put its VPF program for North American exhibitors "on the fast track," to ensure exhibitors are quickly signed up and guaranteed reimbursements as they make their move to DCI Compliant digital cinema projection systems.

"Christie has initiated 'Fast Track' handling at all levels within the administrative process to insure that exhibitors can take advantage of the industry's most simplified plan for making the move to DCI Compliant digital cinema," said Craig Sholder, vice president of Christie's Entertainment Solutions. "It's important for exhibitors to sign up on or before September 30, 2012 but once onboard they will still have until October 31, 2013 to make the physical conversion. During that time, they'll have complete flexibility in choosing the best financing option for their needs, thanks to Christie's highly flexible VPF program. We offer the widest financing options available, from self-financing to working out terms with one of our financing partners."

Sholder added: "The sooner one begins the conversion, the better, since VPF revenues will not be earned until one has converted at least 50 percent of one's complex. Exhibitors have nothing to lose and everything to gain by signing up with the Christie VPF program."

Christie's VPF program has been endorsed by all major Hollywood studios, including the Walt Disney Company, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. The program has been recognized as giving exhibitors the greatest independence in planning a digital cinema conversion. As a result, more than 110 separate theater companies representing more than 1,500 screens across North America have enrolled in Christie's VPF Program to date.

Landmark Cinemas Typifies Satisfied Christie VPF Customer
Landmark Cinemas Inc., which operates 33 theaters in Canada, is among the many exhibitors already subscribed to the Christie VPF. It selected Christie Solaria® Series digital cinema projectors for all of its 100-plus screens throughout Western Canada and the Yukon. With the digital conversion completed, Landmark now shows 2D and 3D movies, live events and other alternative content.

"Christie has always been exceptionally committed to providing exhibitors with superior products and technical expertise," said Neil Campbell, chief operating officer, Landmark Cinemas. "We selected their VPF program because it provided us the ultimate in flexibility. Their technicians worked with our installation company, King Cinema Services, to ensure every conversion took place without any disruption in service."

As part of the VPF arrangements, Landmark worked with Christie in support of sourcing, integrating and testing hardware, enabling Christie to remotely monitor and manage Landmark's digital cinema projection environments.

"We are ready to roll today with signing and installations," said Sholder. "We can handle hundreds of projector orders simultaneously - absolutely no waiting or bottleneck. When the exhibitor is ready, we're ready."

Christie's VPF program is backed by more than 80 years of experience in the cinema industry. It offers expert support and flexible options for all phases of the digital conversion process. Solutions include DCI Compliant digital cinema projection systems and Christie's Network Operations Center (NOC) services, currently monitoring and supporting more than 110,000 devices in over 2,500 locations globally.

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